News
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Highlighting Women in Geobiology at MIT: Dr. Jessica Whiteside
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Current Role: I am an associate professor of geochemistry at the University of Southampton, based in the National Oceanography Centre in Southern England. I specialize in molecular paleontology, that is, I use fossil chemical fingerprints as clues to ancient ecologies and environmental change. Years in the Summons Lab: I was in the Summons lab in…
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Highlighting Women in Geobiology at MIT: Dr. Katherine French
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Story Caption: Dr. French with Dr. Emily Matys, another graduate of the Summons Lab. Current Role: I am currently a research geochemist in the Central Energy Resource Science Center at the USGS in Denver, CO. I apply molecular and isotopic geochemistry to petroleum system research. Years in the Summons Lab:I was a Ph.D. student in…
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Cold World Explorers
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by Fatima Husain Throughout their journeys in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), students and researchers alike investigate the mysteries of the planet. Fieldwork, a critical component of geological study, takes some researchers to the ends of the Earth, and occasionally to some of the coldest, most remote environments known to humankind. …
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Archiving Experiences in Science
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by Fatima Husain In December, Summons Lab members Ainara Sistiaga and Fatima Husain conducted invited talks and activities for the semesterly Science and Us high school student workshop held at MIT, which brings approximately fifty students from around Massachusetts to campus for science enrichment activities. Sistiaga and Husain both shared their experiences in science, and…
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How to survive in one of Earth’s most extreme environments
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New research finds that a unique component of cell membranes in an archaea species conveys protection against acidic surroundings by Fatima Husain Even in Earth’s most inhospitable environments, life has taken hold. Extremophiles, the organisms most well-known for withstanding extreme temperatures, pHs, salinity, and even nutrient-starvation, have evolved special mechanisms that enable them to survive…
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Roger Summons on Proof
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Over the summer, Roger Summons was interviewed for Proof, America’s Test Kitchen’s podcast. His interview appears in the episode “Beanboozled.” The whole podcast episode is fun, and Roger appears between minutes 27 and 32. Listen in here!
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Mars 2020 landing site offers unique opportunity to study ancient Martian history and search for ancient life
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EAPS Professors Summons, Bosak and Weiss provide insight and advise on landing site potential. by Fatima Husain Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL In 2020, NASA’s next rover will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and head to Jezero crater on Mars. The location, which NASA Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen announced this week,…
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Addressing the Possibility of Life on Mars
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Mars expert John Grotzinger tells the story of exploration and the search for ancient life on the red planet at the 2018 Carlson Lecture. by Fatima Husain Story Image: John Grotzinger’s research focuses on interactions between life and environment, and tectonic and climatic regimes. (Vicki McKenna) In 2018, millions around the world caught glimpses of the planet…
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The Power of Persistence and the Scientific Method
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Researchers identify a unique molecular fossil that tracks multicellular animal evolution. by Fatima Husain Evidence of ancient life on Earth is scattered around the globe. The most obvious examples of past life include visible fossils, preserved in sedimentary rocks in the geologic record, viewable in museums and paleontology laboratories alike. But the visible fossil record…
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Studying the Hotbed of Horizontal Gene Transfers
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Global Microbiome Conservancy’s preliminary results reveal new insights into human gut microbiomes by Fatima Husain Story caption: A farming scene in rural RwandaCredit: Christopher Corzett For over 200,000 years, humans and their gut microbiomes have coevolved into some of the most complex collections of living organisms on the planet. But as human lifestyles vary from…